Ruengoethe

Deck of Many Things

The Deck of Many Things was created by The Trickster, a powerful anagogic sorcerer turned Anathem. In life, he was known for sowing intentional chaos across the whole of the world. Sometimes it was malicious, sometimes it was benign, but it always beggared reason. Many believed that The Trickster went mad due to his relationship with the Vestiges, the fractured minds of the Walking Gods, but some say he was always mad and found a common ground with the cackling shadows on the Loom. Regardless of the truth of it, it is known that he discovered a way to bind some of the more fractured Vestiges, some more robust errant Wisps, and the occasional knot harvested from a fresh kill to what could be considered a masterpiece of Elizadry, “The Deck of Many Things.”

The Deck itself is contained with a tightly-fitted box made from Orichalcum. During the Deck’s very brief residence at The Spires, nobody managed to break open the box to see the deck in its entirety. There are twenty-two known cards, though the precise count is unknown, as the cards disintegrate like flashpaper after drawn, and the box seems to replenish itself. Moreover, the small slit that allows one to draw cards opens and seals itelf, and it only allows an individual to draw from it once. The best record of the Deck’s cards and effects were recorded by Scholars of the Spires managed to hold on to it for a record length of time- one month. After that, it disappeared. The scholars found that each card performs a powerful and unique act of Tuning, able to seemingly consciously tear into the Loom and alter Strings like a well-trained wizard. The listed cards, and their recorded effects, are as follows

1. The Severing – severs a person’s tie to to Loom. 2. Flames – the person who draws from the deck falls into a deep coma. The two that have drawn this card and lived to tell the tale say that they were visited by visions of a Vestige, and forced to fight in insane trials in a terrifying dreamscape. 3. Despair – saps the vitality, looks, or wits of the drawer, often whatever they prided most. 4. Star – invigorates the one drawing from the deck, often improving what they consider their best quality. 5. Sun – a drop of orichalchum falls from the deck’s container, forming a piece of enchanted jewelry just the right size for whoever drew the card. 6. The Fool – the person drawing suffers from immediate memory loss, and is then compelled to draw from the deck again, reacting as if goaded by a nearby voice.7. Gem – whenever this card was drawn, the container for the deck opened up and poured out a handful of polished rubies. 8. Talons – the scholars observed when this card is drawn that nearby items made from syanthazoa, starfall steel, or amaranthine were dissolved.9. Jester – The one who draws this card finds immediately finds that whatever craft or study they were performing comes easier to them. The Deck’s container also remains open for them, but if they draw another card, the boon of their new-found talent disappears. 10. Ruin – this drawing of this card has a disruptive effect on metals, sublimating gold and copper. Additionally, this sublimation produces a toxic gas that nearly killed the scholars studying the deck. 11. Fates – this card seemed to gift the one who draws it with good luck for a small period of time. 12. Skull – this card manifests a Void Shade, an incredibly rare type of deadly Wisp, that seems motivated to slay the one who draw the card. 13. Rogue – This card seems to alter the very personality of a person who is close to the one who drew the card, compelling the friend to obsessively undermine or even assault the drawer of the card. It was observed, luckily, that the effect wears off over time. 14. Vizier – This card unlocks a the answer to a question that the drawer may have been pondering, a strange effect that puzzled the scholars to no end. The individual has a sudden flash of keen insight, and is even able to trace out the steps to get to the conclusion again. 15. Balance – The color of the drawer’s knot is instantly warped, often changing their personality. 16. Fumble – This card seems to curse the drawer with a bout of ill luck. 17. Sloth – this card inflicts malaise upon the one who draws it. 18. Comet – those that draw this card find that, if they face their next challenge without aid and with confidence, they are able to learn much more than usual from their success. 19. Cartography – this card ties the knot of the drawer to an object of their desire, allowing them to sense its (or hers, in the case of the scholar who first recorded this card’s result) location as a magebred Strix might. 20. Familiar – this card braids a nearby beast to the one who drew the card, making it loyal to the one who drew it and giving a degree of empathetic communication between the beast and the drawer. 21. Donjon – This card places the one who draws it into a deep coma, one that no known person has come out of. 22. Revenge – This card looses potent Tekne unto the world, raising a former foe of the one who draws it and sending the revenant after the poor-luck fool. It is unknown what befalls those who draw this card if they get through life without accumulating any foes among the formerly living.